Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #153
Innovation
AI helped publisher increase subscription conversion, registration — and, paradoxically, also loyalty and engagement
HT @BoSacks AI helped The Globe and Mail generate millions of dollars in incremental revenue, increase subscription conversion by 51% bringing in 170K subscribers, double email registrations, & increase return visits/engagement among registered users #AI
An clear explanation of NFTs and their potential impact on sports
Save the Chimps: Chimpanzees in St. Lucie County make NFT paintings sold to support their sanctuary
www.wptv.com
There are some unlikely artists in St. Lucie County getting in on a growing trend of digital art, selling online for big money.
This Y Combinator founder is selling his startup as an NFT as a way to ‘embrace failing,’ with bids starting at $96,000
www.businessinsider.com
Gordian Braun needed to wind down Onetool after quickly burning through cash. He chose an unconventional route: auctioning it as an NFT.
NFT of a timeshare
It was only a matter of time….
Technology
France fines Google $593 million for not negotiating ‘in good faith’ with news publishers.
Clubhouse launches its DM feature Backchannel — www.theverge.com
Clubhouse is launching its direct message feature, Backchannel, for all iOS and Android users. People can chat one-on-one or in groups. #Clubhouse #SocialAudio
Exclusive TED chats are coming to Clubhouse
www.theverge.com
TED and Clubhouse are partnering exclusively on live social audio chats. The first show, Thank Your Ass Off, will run weekly on the platform.
A Look Inside Facebook’s Data Wars
CrowdTangle, a data analytics tool owned by Facebook, was supposed to make the platform more transparent. And it did. It showed that right-wing commentators received much more engagement on their Facebook pages and posts than MSM news outlets. #Facebook
Amazon rolls out encryption for Ring doorbells
www.zdnet.com
Privacy advocates have been asking for Amazon to encrypt its popular Ring doorbells audio and video traffic, and Amazon is finally delivering it.
Amazon launches HealthLake in general availability
venturebeat.com
Amazon launched a new big data analytics service for health care providers, HealthLake, in general availability.
Instagram’s Evolution — stratechery.com
Instagram’s shift away from being a photo-sharing app is very much inline with the service’s continuous evolution via @benthompson
Peloton pays artists more per play than Spotify and Apple Music.
Every time you pedal to a Beyoncé song, Peloton pays out a whopping 3.1 cents.
This company is betting that the future of video games will be massive, interactive live events — www.fastcompany.com
Trend to watch: This company is betting that the future of video games will be massive, interactive live events #gaming #Metaverse
Netflix Eyes Video Games After Hiring Ex-EA and Facebook Executive to Lead Game Development
The Internet is rotting — Too much has been lost already. The glue that holds humanity’s knowledge together is coming undone.
A fascinating long read on the dangers of link rot.
Publishing & Media
Kindle Vella Launches with Thousands of Stories — www.publishersweekly.com
Amazon has officially launched Kindle Vella, its mobile-1st, interactive reading tool for serialized stories, which was first announced in April. It’s starting with “thousands of stories containing tens of thousands of episodes.” #Amazon #ereading
How TV Adaptations Are Changing Fiction
Want to preview next year’s Emmys? Walk past your local bookstore. Last year, TV adaptations were more numerous than film adaptions for the first time. The rise of streaming and its love of literature have influenced which books are read and taught, and it has started to mediate the form fiction takes, even if never adapted.
Facebook plans to pay creators $1 billion to use its products
HT @TaylorLorenz The payouts are part of a broader effort to woo influencers onto its platforms: Influencers will be able to earn money by using specific Facebook and Instagram features or by hitting certain milestones.
Obamas Readying Film and TV Event ‘Blackout’ for Netflix
HT @wellreadblkgirl The Obamas’ Higher Ground and ‘Fatherhood’ producers Temple Hill are developing ‘Blackout’ as a TV and film event.
A Look Inside The BIPOC Editorial Training Program at Sourcebooks
RT @Sourcebooks .@EditorChrista Desir takes us inside the #BIPOC Editorial Training Program at Sourcebooks! This fully remote, paid program is designed to provide a broad overview of the day-to-day work of an editor. For more info, & details on the next cohort, visit: http://ow.ly/zyGt50Fs8N0 #teamPRH
Substack to launch Substack Grow next month, a free six-session course over Zoom to help writers build a following and earn their first $1,000
The top 10 publishers on Substack bring in more than $20 million a year in subscriptions, underpinning the newsletter platform’s revenue growth. Now Substack is trying to broaden the pool of writers who can earn a living from paid subscriptions.
Get Interactive: Quizzes and similar content Engage Audience, Help Your Content Business
RT @TheTiltNews Interactive quizzes engage #audiences: 96% of those who started a Buzzfeed quiz finished it, @Outgrowco reported. #contententrepreneur
One of the best of these meme captions from @BNBuzz.
Runners up:
@Kantrowitz: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google
@mikechenwriter: Scrivener, pen and paper, Google Docs, Microsoft Word
@taimhuynh: Graphic design, industrial design, interior design, design thinking.
Resources & Opportunities
Call for Volunteers: Latinx KidLit Book Festival
latinxkidlitbookfestival.wufoo.com
MT @LatinxKidLitBF Love books? The Latinx KidLit Book Festival is in need of volunteers! Help us translate, assist with sponsorships, monitor our chats during the festival, and more. Whatever your skills, we could use them. Gracias! #LKBF2021
The Finding Ada Conference 2021 — free, online conference for women in STEM 7/20–7/22
Women Startup Challenge FemTech + HealthTech Grants Program — womenwhotech.com
MT @jkhoey Women Who Tech is providing $20K in equity-free grants to women-led startups focused on FemTech or HealthTech. #womenintech #WomenWhoCode #FemTech #femalefounders #womenentrepreneurs #Healthtech
Women’s Media Group Free Virtual Event with Author Helen Ellis
The bestselling author of American Housewife and Southern Lady Code returns with a viciously funny, deeply felt collection of essays on friendship among grown-ass women. Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light reads like the best cocktail party of your life. Plan to join us on August 4 from 5–6pm ET, as we gather (virtually) with Helen Ellis for a happy hour filled with questions, conversation and likely, more than a few laughs. @WhatIDoAllDay @WMG_NYC @ShakeandCoBooks
Cornell’s free birding app just added a ‘Shazam for bird songs’ — www.fastcompany.com
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has seen a burst of interest in its Merlin birding app after adding a sound recognition feature.
